Fox-Hunting in Ireland

Caitriona Power

In spite of the activities of protestors, Ireland has traditionally had a fairly indulgent attitude towards hunting with hounds. But now the government in the republic of Ireland is coming under severe pressure to bring in stricter rules on what anti- hunting groups describe as “a barbaric sport”. There used to be a saying in Ireland that the sign of a “good” family was a “priest in the family, a pump in the yard, and the hunt once a year”. 

                                                                                                Not any more. There is growing support for a ban on the organised pursuit of foxes, with hunts regularly disrupted by anti- hunting campaigners. One of the groups at the centre of the anti-hunting movement is the Irish Council Against Blood Sports (ICABS), which was set up over 30 years ago, and which now has 2,000 followers. ICABS was originally formed to put an end to hare- coursing but now they have turned their attention to fox-hunting.

                                                                                                     It is based in the midlands of Ireland in County Westmeath. The ICABS has also proposed a motion calling on the government to outlaw “this so called sport”. The proposal is to be debated at the next annual meeting of the Association of Municipal Authorities in Ireland (AMAI). The ICABS public relations officer regards fox-hunting as “a cruel activity”. And also wants to know “if Ireland is going to be the last country in Europe to allow this barbaric practice to take place in its land”.

                                                                                    Fox- hunting has a long history in Ireland. It was introduced by English landowners, and is still associated with the Anglo-Irish. It continued with little opposition until about ten years ago, when overwhelming public revulsion led to greater restrictions on the long-established practice of hare-coursing, and the campaigners then began to turn their attention to fox- hunting.

                                                                                                 The release of a video showing the digging- out of a fox in County Cork, in the south west of Ireland led to the formulation of a code of conduct, agreed with the organisations associated with the Irish Hunting Association. However, the code does not stop digging-out, or the use of terriers to flush foxes from earths, or the baiting of fox clubs before the season begins, in order to “blood” the hounds. The Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports describes the code as “a complete sham”, and it is also referred by the ICABS as a “code of misconduct”.

                                                                                The Republic’s Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh, has ruled out legislation to stop fox- hunting, which he says is not a cruel sport, and which he describes as a “traditional rural activity”. He has also expressed concern at moves to ban fox-hunting in Britain because of the effect it could have on the IR£100m market in Irish horses. But he says that he is opposed to practices such as “earth stopping”, which is designed to prevent an exhausted fox from finding a safe refuge.

                                                                       The relaxed attitude of the Irish government towards the sport has lead to stories about British enthusiasts creating a “property boom” in Ireland by buying country estates in case the threat of banning fox-hunting in Britain becomes a reality. However the British Field Sports Society has said that this is not true. ICABS, however, criticised Irish estate agents for “unashamedly promoting our country as a blood sport arena for disaffected hunters from the UK”.  

        However the proposal to ban fox-hunting in Ireland has not been resolved yet. Fox-hunting still remains a very popular sport in Ireland and no doubt will continue to remain a popular sport for years to come.